


Time to Fly

by CatOfLello



Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-15
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2019-03-09 05:53:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13475055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatOfLello/pseuds/CatOfLello
Summary: Aiden struggles to let his apprentice go solo on her first hunt but it's time to let her fly the nest.





	Time to Fly

The noonday sun beat down on parched wheat fields surrounding a small village set next to a dried up stream, the heat had been unrelenting with very little rain since the spring. Everywhere the pair of witchers had gone they were met with small purses for even the largest and most difficult of contracts. Dust rose around the hooves of their horses as they strolled lazily into town. The older witcher looked back at his protege who was following behind him on her dapple grey mare. 

“We’ll stop here, see if there’s any work that will pay enough for food.” he reached around behind him for his studded leather jacket. “Time to look professional kiddo. Put your jacket on”

The younger witcher wrinkled her nose “But Aiden-”

“But nothing. Put your jacket on” the older witcher interrupted “It’s only for now. Do you remember what I told you about appearances when negotiating contracts?”

"Yes..."

"And what was it exactly that I told you?"

"Dress to instil confidence in a potential client or you'll go hungry"

The witcheress snatched her silver studded green jacket from behind her. As she pulled it on, she accidentally put her fist through the poorly repaired shoulder seam causing her to curse loudly. Aiden turned around to look over the rump of his shaggy black mare and couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of Aleksandra struggling to free her arm from her tattered jacket. She shot him a glare that would probably put fear into the heart of any other man. 

“Shut up. I wish you would let me take this fucking thing to a tailor so I can have it properly fixed” she growled.

Aiden stopped laughing immediately and gave her a serious look. “When you start bringing in some coin you can do whatever you want with it but as it stands you’re not so-” 

The young witcheress sighed deeply out of frustration. “Then let me bring in some coin, I can take on drowners or ghouls by myself. I’m not a child anymore.”

He pulled back on the reins and stopped his black mare and he gave her a serious look mixed with concern that unsettled her. It wasn’t often that Aiden was serious outside of a contract.

_ “She’s not a child anymore, you have to let her fly. Shes ready and you know it”  _ the words of his closest friend echoed in his mind. He looked towards the village.  _ “She’s ready” _

“The next one,” he said in a calm even voice “the next one is all yours.” he spurred the black mare towards the village. She grew up fast, he remembered when she was just a little and Lambert would tell her bedtime stories of the witcher variety. She would cling to his arm, pretending to fall asleep but he knew she wouldn’t sleep a wink that night. He smiled.  “Unless it’s the old hag of Kalkar, you won’t sleep for a week”

“Shut up”

“As you wish, my Lady.” said Aiden with a smug grin.  
  


************

An old grey tomcat hissed at them and quickly disappeared into a nearby shrub, a little boy stopped playing with a stick to gawk at the pair in amazement before being hurried inside by his weary mother. The mother had nothing to fear from them, as witchers very rarely took children as payment these days. Aleksandra had been the last witcher made at the school of the cat, well at least the last that survived after the castle was attacked.

A crooked old man sat on a stool outside of a thatched hut, he stood as he spied the pair approach and nodded in greeting. Aleksandra nodded back, stopping her dapple grey mare in front of the old man. 

“Witchers. We hav’ work for ya if you’d be willin” the crooked man called to them as he struggled to stand on his twisted legs.

“What can you tell me about it?” Aleksandra dismounted and walked towards the old man. She towered over the old man, by nearly a whole head and shoulders. He stared at her with a mixture of fear and wonderment. 

“Ever since the stream dried up people hav’ been afeared to head up to the north fields. They say there’s something up there that reeks worse than death and chases down anyone who gets too close” 

“Anyone see this monster?”

“Um… well Seth’s boy said he got a good look before he were chased off. Says they looked rotten and ran on all fours”

“Hmm how much coin are we talking for this monster’s head?” she crossed her arms bracing herself for the small price she had become accustomed to that summer. 

“Well…” the alderman started sheepishly made nervous by the older witcher’s silence. He rubbed the back of his neck leathery with his dirty hand. “We hav’ twenty crowns between the whole village for it” 

Aleksandra snorted in disgust.

“That’s all we hav' Miss, I know you hold your services highly but the fields are dry and we will be lucky to make it through winter. The only place where there is any fertile land left is by the lake but that monster...” 

“Call it twenty if there is a decent seamstress in town to fix my jacket” 

“Olanda is pretty handy with thread, twenty it is miss. Follow the stream North towards the lake” 

The witcheress nodded and mounted her dapple grey mare nudging her into a trot towards the stream. Aiden nodded to the old man and followed. 

************

The pair strolled along the crumbling riverbed, their horses' hooves turning up thick clouds of dust with every step. The fields were eerily silent, not a single raven croaked or the sound of a mouse running through the dried wheat stalks could be heard. They caught the scent of decay about a mile up the dried up river they dismounted. 

“So, what do you think it is little cat?” Aiden prodded his ward 

Aleksandra dug through her saddle bag for a wooden box filled with small vials of different liquids. “Horrible stench, feeding off of fallen animals from the drought, looks rotten and runs on all fours…” she crouched down placing the box on the caked earth “ghouls, more than likely”

Aiden tried to repress a proud smile “I would concur. What do you need to fight one?”

The witcheress sighed in frustration, every time they were out on a contract he would quiz her and it annoyed her to no end.

“Swallow potion, igni and…” she ran her slender fingers over the portable apothecary and pulled the final vial from the box “Black blood” she grasped the last vial tightly and looked up at Aiden “I know I can kill it without taking this, Do I have to take it?” 

“Yes.” he shifted the weight on his feet “At least if they get the better of you... you’ll get the last laugh when they start eating…” he drifted off as he came to the realization that one day she would die in some unforsaken hole because no witcher has ever died in their own bed. His heart twisted in pain, a witcher’s life, a life he condemned her to.

Aleksandra made a face as she downed the two vials of opaque fluid, he nose wrinkled just before she coughed. She tried not to think about what was in what she had just drank, witcher potions were not known to be made from the finest ingredients from Bouclair. After replacing the box into the saddle bag, she removed her silver sword, silence. 

She looked up at her mentor and saw pride with the undertones of concern. “Aiden… I’m going to be fine” 

“Many witchers have thought that before meeting their death. Sure, it may just be a routine drowner or nekker nest but never forget they're just as deadly as the oldest leshen. Never let your guard down or underestimate your opponent.” he paused “Oil your blade and carry on little cat”

She looked down at the cracked earth ahead of her.  _ On my own,  _ she thought _I'm truly_ _ my own for the first time and he’s not going to follow me. Time to fly. _

The crops were stunted and lifeless and the ground crumbled under her feet. Aleks led her mare closer and closer to the lake and up ahead was what was left of a dried up drowner carcass and signs of recent feeding, at least three different individuals from her calculations. 

“Definitely ghouls” she mumbled to herself, an acrid stench pricked her nose “Not too far off either” she scanned the dying wheat field for any movement, secretly hoping to see Aiden’s ever watchful and reassuring form following her. Nothing. He really meant it, she was on her own. She imagined bringing him a sack full of ghoul heads and how proud he would look. His little cat has now become a fully fledged hunter. 

Aleks led her horse farther downstream, something moved through the dried field to her right. Her dapple grey mare whinnied and stomped her feet. 

“Whoa, girl-” she formed the sign of axii to calm the nervous beast “Calm girl, I saw it too” the mare shook her head trying to fight the effects of the spell. Aleks threw the reins over her mare’s head. Any closer and the ghouls would have her for dinner and she didn’t fancy sharing a saddle with Aiden again. 

Three shapes were moving quickly near the mouth of the stream, Aleks approached carefully. No movement, smell or sound escaped her attention, she looked towards the bank of the river. Two ghouls near the trees on the bank and the third was busying itself with the corpse of a fallen deer. 

She approached the feeding ghoul slowly, focused and ready. All of her training has been leading up to this moment... A twig snapped loudly under her foot. The ghoul raised its ugly head towards the source of the sound before letting out a roar and charging towards her. She managed to pirouette out of the way of the rampaging monster, turn and with a well-placed blow, sliced into its neck. A crimson mist sprayed across the parched earth. She turned swinging her sword at the other quickly approaching ghouls, catching one of them under its arm. It howled in pain as it stumbled to keep on its feet but failed miserably. The third ghoul tackled her, pushing her off balance and dug its razor sharp claws into her shoulder making her cry out. She quickly made the sign of Arrd, a telekinetic blast sent the creature flying back when it charged again Aleksandra ran the edge of her blade through its corroded artery. 

Aleksandra stopped and prepared for the next attack but everything was silent and still.

**********

As she was strapping the bloodied bag of heads to her saddle, she noticed a familiar shape approaching from the treeline. She threw up her hands and grinned widely. 

“I wanted to see if any of my lessons stuck” Aiden teased

“You were worried”

“Just a bit but I see it wasn’t in vain, you're bleeding.” 

**********

The pair sat in silence, staring into the crackling fire while they chewed on a roasted rabbit. Aiden threw what was left of his meal in the fire and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He cleared his throat and looked at Aleks. 

“How’s your arm? Are you sure you don’t want to go to Ellander in the morning?” 

“I’m fine, a couple of days rest and with this-” she held up a small vial “Should be healed by morning” Aleksandra took another sip, wrinkling her nose in disgust. 

Aiden cleared his throat again “You did well today little cat” said Aiden pulling something from the pouch on his belt then held it out to her in a closed fist. “here.”

The witcheress reached out her hand tentatively. 

“It’s not worms this time.” Aiden reassured her “I promise” he opened his fist and dropped the object in her fist.

When she pulled her hand back, something cold with a long silver chain was now nestled in her palm. She opened her fingers to reveal a witcher's medallion in the shape of a snarling cat.  Firelight danced off of the edges and it’s green gemstone eyes stared back. Aleks’ eyes widened in surprise.  

“It’s yours, you earned it today.” said Aiden his heart swelling with pride “I know three ghouls isn’t exactly the same as the trail of the medallion but you’re ready. Never take it off, it will save your ass when you least expect it”

“I feel like there’s a story there.” The witcheress pulled the chain over her head and held the medallion between her fingers admiring it. “Thank you but where did you get it? It’s not like every roadside bazaar sells witcher medallions.”

Aiden looked away from her and back to the flickering flames of the campfire. “It was a friend’s. Been holding onto it for years, he helped me escape with you that night.” His face grew dark like it usually did when he and Lambert had too much to drink and the conversation had taken a painful twist.

The smile on Aleksandra’s face vanished, she knew there had been a price for her freedom but she didn’t remember much from that night and he never spoke about it. She looked over to Aiden, lost in thought then stopped toying with her medallion. “What happened to him?” 

Aiden closed his eyes and bowed his head to his chest. “He died after we got you out. There was a price on all of our heads and some of the other witchers had taken to assassination contracts. Good money to be made I guess, but um… they caught up with him in Kedwen.”

An uncomfortable silence fell over the camp. Both were lost in thought. Aleksandra strained to recall what had happened that night as Aiden strained to forget it. 

“What was his name?” asked Aleks

“What?” 

“What was his name?” she repeated

“Halvor”

Aleksandra looked back down at her new medallion trying to recall where she knew the name from. Halvor had been her fencing instructor for the last two years she had spent at the school. She remembered him, a giant man with red hair shouting at her while she practised on the comb. He had always been kind to her, a rare thing in that hell. “He taught me fencing…” she looked back at Aiden and silence fell again.

“Get some sleep, long day of riding tomorrow.” Aiden stood up and threw another log on the fire.


End file.
